


i've had no love like your love

by jupiterjazzpartii



Category: Doctor Who & Related Fandoms, Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: F/F, Love Confessions, Meddling TARDIS, Reunions
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-15
Updated: 2020-02-15
Packaged: 2021-02-27 19:48:10
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,069
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22741261
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jupiterjazzpartii/pseuds/jupiterjazzpartii
Summary: Martha’s answering grin soon softened into a more somber expression. “I didn’t know if I’d ever see you again.”“Well,” the Doctor’s attempt at an unaffected tone was unsuccessful, but mercifully Martha didn’t comment on this as she continued, “Here we are though."or: the marthathirteen reunion we need
Relationships: The Doctor/Martha Jones, Thirteenth Doctor & Martha Jones, Thirteenth Doctor/Martha Jones
Comments: 16
Kudos: 61





	i've had no love like your love

**Author's Note:**

> NOT beta'd because i am a clown
> 
> enjoy my first fic ever posted to the internet. cheers!

It all happened because the TARDIS was being a bit of a _brat._

The ship had docked in London, against the Doctor’s explicit wishes, and effectively went quiet, deciding to not respond to any further commands, no matter how direct or pleading.

“Alright then. What is all of this about, now? What is going on with you?”

The TARDIS, due to her nature as a ship and not quite another sentient lifeform, did not exactly respond, but notably did not budge either.

The interior lighting shut off abruptly as she walked away from the main console, leaving only a few light sources online by the door. The Doctor threw her hands up, “Fine! Very well! I’ll just go, leave you here, and find something to busy myself with until you come back to it, won’t I?” and strode towards the door. She didn’t quite slam it on her way out, because she _did_ respect her ship (and didn’t want to give it any further cause to have an attitude with her).

The city was a favorite of hers honestly, and she admitted that there were very much worse locations to be trapped in. She wandered the streets, flittering between admiring how much the city changed while remaining the same and recounting various times and locations she had been stuck in that _had_ been worse. Anything to stave away the boredom of being a time traveler with an ornery ship who wouldn’t actually allow you to travel through time.

She had essentially resorted to the age-old pastime of people watching when a passerby caught her eye: a pretty woman with a familiar spiky updo and faded red leather jacket crossing in front of her.

“Martha?” she called out, “Martha Jones?”

Her head whipped around, looking for the source when she locked gazes with the Doctor. She squinted, as if searching for a clue and the Doctor offered up a grin and a wiggle of the hand that could possibly qualify as a wave by some vague definition. After another moment of confusion, Martha’s eyes widened in recognition and she called out cautiously: “Doctor?”

“That’s me.”

“ _Doctor?_ ”

“Martha--”

Suddenly, the blonde found her arms full as Martha charged toward her and wrapped her arms around her. It was only right that the Doctor lifted her and gave them a twirl, obviously. Once Martha found her feet planted firmly on the ground again, both women giggling and grinning, she gently tugged on the Doctor’s blonde locks. “This bit’s new. Count me as a fan.”

“There’s a lot new here,” the Doctor responded, fanning her arms out.

“Nah, not really.” Martha walked a slow circle around the Doctor, seemingly sizing up this new version of her old friend. “Maybe it’s a new body, without any ridiculous sideburns, but you’ve still got the same mischievous look in your eye. Same strange sense of style. Same long, silly coat.”

“Hey! I’ll have you know this is a _different_ overcoat. And it’s very fashionable!”

“It’s very something, all right.”

“Cheek.”

Martha’s answering grin soon softened into a more somber expression. “I didn’t know if I’d ever see you again.”

“Well,” the Doctor’s attempt at an unaffected tone was unsuccessful, but mercifully Martha didn’t comment on this as she continued, “Here we are though. Two doctors-- say, did you ever complete your studies? Are you licenced now? You’re brilliant, of course you are. Where do you practice? I mean, anywhere’d be lucky to have you, for sure, but I’m curious if you stayed where you were or if--”

Martha’s rolled her eyes good-naturedly as the woman rambled, “Doctor.”

“Right, surely you’ve got somewhere to be-- I, er. Just. D’you want to-- go somewhere? To catch up. Soon? I’ve nowhere to be, really, and the TARDIS is acting out right now so I--” Her rant was cut short by Martha linking their arms, turning towards her with a sly smile.

“I’d love to. Coffee?”

  
  


Admittedly, a busy coffee shop may not have been the best meeting place for a Time Lord and her former companion to meet and recount their stories since their last parting, but the two made do with their corner booth and Martha was thankful for the iced latte she clutched as an excuse to do something with her hands.

The Doctor knew she looked vastly different from the last time they had met, but her companion honestly seemed immune to change. The other woman was still striking, still wonderfully _Martha_ after all this time. She was a bit older, not noticeably so but the crinkles around her eyes were more pronounced when she smiled now. Her favored leather jacket had faded, but still fit comfortably around her frame, her hair still pulled up in the same cozy style. Her smile still came easily, still lit up the whole room, a loose and wonderful thing.

They spoke about their respective adventures, laughing or sighing appropriately when the stories called for it. The Doctor asked after Martha’s mum, Martha asked after the TARDIS, which led to the blonde peevishly explaining the ship’s recent behavior.

“Right well… I mean… I could give you a tour. Again. The TARDIS has changed just as much as I have, recently. She’d like to see you again. And I’ve-- I’ve missed you, too. I’d like to hang around a bit longer. Well. If you’ll have me.”

“I…” Martha started, looking pensive, “I have a life here, Doctor. A job, my family… I’m not sure I can leave it all behind again, not for long.”

“Yeah, I understand.”

“Stop interrupting me.” She gently smacked the Doctor’s arm. “I have a life here, and I love it. But… I could do with a trip. With a familiar, handsome, wonderful, completely _bonkers_ doctor. I’d love to see the stars again.”

She stopped with a shy smile, and was delighted to see it returned on the Doctor’s face.

“I’d love to show you.”

As they stepped through the blue doors into the darkened interior, the TARDIS seemed to whir back to life. Gently, lights sprung back on and the Doctor muttered under her breath about “whiny machines who only respond to a pretty girl, _apparently_!”

_For once, the Doctor was right,_ Martha mused, _the TARDIS has changed a lot._ Gone was the strange, busy spaceship she had known for so long, the interior replaced by a more brutalist design, with glowing orange spires curving at sharp angles towards the heart of the machine. Honeycomb patterns adorned the walls, electric blue lighting softly twinkling on and off. She reached out and touched a palm to the wall, feeling the thrum of the ship beneath her. “Rather more… orange now, innit?”

“Oh yes. She’s been decided on that color scheme for a while. Was a bit more muted there for a bit, when we went for a style more like, er, what’s that American show you humans fancy about space travel? Very good acting, brilliant makeup, but never quite accurate as far as other lifeforms go?”

“...Star Trek?”

“That’s the one! Fantastic bout of human creativity, I’ll admit. Once met an alien who was _on_ the show, played a human though. Imagine that. Anywho, looked a bit more like a set from television for a spell. Was nice, in my opinion.” The Doctor paused and turned from her position by the controls to look at Martha, “Where do you want to go, then?”

She thought for a moment, then answered, “Anywhere.”

“Aw, come on! Surely there’s something you missed, somewhere you’ve never been before, an era you’re still curious about! A historical figure you’ve yet to charm, a question about the future, a distant planet to tour.”

Martha shook her head. “I don’t care.”

The Doctor looked taken aback. “You… don’t care? Do you… not want to go?” She wore an unsure expression, her hands hovering above the TARDIS’s controls. _Insecurity was never a good look on her_ , Martha thought.

“I don’t mean it like _that_. I do want to be here, it’s just…” She hesitated, trying to decide the amount of honesty to let loose at this moment. Go big or go home, she guessed. “I don’t care what year we’re in or where in the universe we are. I just want to travel with you.” Another pause as she gathered her courage. “I think I’ve said before, how I feel about you. That hasn’t changed, in all these years, that hasn’t changed. I know you don’t feel the same, and that’s alright. But I’m in love with you. So really, it doesn’t matter to me what we do, y’know? Just as long as I get to be by your side again.”

The two stared at each other for a moment. The Doctor opened and closed her mouth a few times, trying and failing to find her words at first.

“Martha. Martha Jones. Doctor Jones. Brilliant woman, savior of humanity. Clever as can be. Compassionate to a fault. Why would you think that I don’t love you?”

Martha startled, “I-- you-- you’ve never.” She collected herself, ignoring the Doctor’s concerned gaze, “How could I think that you did? I-- I mean we were friends, I was your companion but you never… acted like it could be more. It took a long time for me to even gain confidence in your company, that you wanted me there.”

The Doctor began slowly, “Martha. I haven’t done right by you, have I?” Martha opened her mouth to disagree, but the Doctor continued, “No, I haven’t. I’m sorry. I’m sorry for putting you down, even inadvertently. I’m sorry for every adventure when you saved my arse and didn’t receive the credit you were due. And I’m sorry for not making it known how utterly, hopelessly in love with you I am.”

“Don’t say that if you don’t mean it.”

“It’s a good thing I mean it, then.”

“How?”

The Doctor strode over, taking Martha’s hands and locking eyes.

“Do you want me to list the reasons? I can give you alphabetical or chronological-- well, as chronological as you can expect given, er, me.” Martha barked out a short, wet laugh and the Doctor took that as permission to continue, “You’re amazing. You’re clever and kind, rude and snarky in tandem. You _sassed_ me, the first time we met. Sassed _me_ ! Hello! And you-- you-- the woman who walked the Earth. You did the most amazing things, by yourself. You _care_ , about _everything_. People. Humanity. Strangers. Me. We met shortly after I lost my best friend, and I was admittedly an arsehole. And yet you stuck by me, you pushed past that and stayed, and I can’t thank you enough for that. You gifted me with your friendship and your love, you marvelous creature, and I have always loved you in kind. And I’ve felt love before, maybe even been in love a time or two, but it’s never felt like this. Not like you.”

Martha released her vice-like grip on the Doctor’s hands and wiped her eyes, “Don’t-- How am I supposed to come back from that now? When the hell did you decide to become a romantic?”

“I would very much like to kiss you now. Is that okay?”

“You didn’t really ask me the first time,” she pointed out with a smile, and the Doctor laughed so genuinely that Martha couldn’t resist pulling her down and kissing her.

This kiss was different from their first, in ways besides the fact that the Doctor’s general shape was quite different. Their first kiss was electric and in a haste, while this time it was gentle, and the two kissed like they had all the time in the world. There were no fireworks behind Martha’s eyes when their lips met, but there was the TARDIS under her feet and her Doctor’s arms wrapped around her, so really, what more could she want?

When they parted, eyes closed and resting foreheads against each other, a comfortable silence washed over them. Sharing breath was so intimate, the quiet calm so wonderful that Martha was almost regretful to break it if not for the unspoken promise that there’d be more moments like this in their future. “You asked me where I wanted to go, earlier,” she began, “and I meant it when I said ‘anywhere.’ I don’t particularly care where we go, Doctor, as long as I’m there with you.”

“Well. Let’s go then.”

**Author's Note:**

> i'm (arguably) an artist not a writer so this is a whole new ballgame for me. find me @ billandtedsexcellentgaymarriage on tumblr if you want to make fun of me


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